happy tiger wrote:Only problem might be his body may not carry the extra muscle well , he has that Fulton type frame

Could we be better off trying to get some speed in those legs and turn him into a centre ??

Not so sure about that happy. 192cm and 100kg? That's a pretty solid build. Bigger than most of our squad! If he could add an extra few kgs of muscle to fill out his frame he could be a best of a backrower. His lateral defence may be too suspect to play out wide though.

Sounds like he already has the build for a centre - and a few kilos will come onto that naturally as he gets older. Seems to have a good running style and can get through a gap given half a chance.

Regardless of where he plays he had a great attitude on the field - let's hope we don't dull that like has happened to so many before him...

Back rower I reckon. I'd seriously be looking at him over Bodene for the start of next season but he's gotta work on his hands and skill sets a bit more.

Bodene has been reliable but just doesn't look like he's going to break the line unless 2 metres out from the try line.

Obviously Sironen should be the first to be replaced on present form but I see him as part of our future and he needs to be playing with the first graders imo to gain that experience - on that I thought Joey Johns had a valid point last night about wishing Sirro was allowed to roam as a traditional lock forward using his ball playing skills on both edges and up the middle. Combined with the 7, 6, 9,& 1 that could be potent. He is struggling just hitting it up on the left edge atm.

1. Tedesco
6. Moses
7. Brooks
9. Farah
11. Akoula (probably starting off the bench though in the early season)
12. Blair (only because he's still contracted and need to find a spot for him - improved, but still dumb & dumber!)
13. Sironen

Defiant wrote:His best game yet in first grade. I liked it when he took the prop like hit ups in the centre early in the game. Plenty of hard metres.

Funnily enough as good as he was last night his best game was his first game in first grade against parramatta when we beat them during easter at homebush when he was killing it in the backrow with damaging runs and offloads.Such a shame cause Gavet killed it that day too but gavets issues are finding the right headspace.(dont mean to sound condescending to gavet but he would be best off if he saw a psychologist.Its no shame in reality and some of the greatest minds have used psychologists over the years.Just hope those close to Gavet are giving him good advice.He has so much potential as does Sitaleki.Sitaleki should finish the season in first grade.

Evan when we were getting dominated, he still returned the ball with energy and did plenty of the hard metres. Good on him! I reckon we did really well last night considering our injuries and off field drama. Most of the tries we conceded were because of Patterson defending against a much faster player in Tim Lafai. All our forwards were also good.

A late inclusion to last night’s game at ANZ Stadium, Sitaleki Akauola topped the Wests Tigers metre-count in the 30-10 loss to the Bulldogs – despite starting on the wing.

Akauola made 167 metres from 17 runs and two tackle breaks in what was just his eighth NRL match.

More accustomed to the back row, the Manuwera junior attributed his strong carries from deep inside his own half to helping out the forward pack.

“I was just trying to do the job of a back and get the ball back up field as far as I could,” Akauola said. “That way the forwards can have a big rest.”

“Coming from the forwards, I know what it feels like and it’s so much easier when the backs make those metres for you.”

Akauola recently re-signed with the Wests Tigers for another two seasons and will move into the NRL top 25 squad in 2015.

The 22-year-old joins a host of other young talent to commit to the Wests Tigers beyond this season, including Ava Seumanufagai, David Nofoaluma and Curtis Sironen.

Up there with the most improved Wests Tigers players in 2014, Akauola made his NRL debut in Round 5 last year but failed to appear in the top grade for the remainder of that season.

After training hard during the off-season, Akauola has turned in a strong campaign and will be hoping to finish the year just as strong with the NRL side – followed by a finals campaign with the second-placed NSW Cup team.

“Hopefully we can learn from this game and turn it around next week (against the Raiders),” Akauola said. “There were a few positives to take out of the game and also aspects we will work to improve on.”

Not sure if he's a centre - his skill set doesn't quite look up to it (high balls, hands, passing skills etc). He is certainly a goer though and has qualities of enthusiasm and desire that many of our other players lack. I like watching him and I think that he will put on a few kilos naturally in the off season without the need to beef up too much and get slower. If trained properly he will make a great backrow addition to the NRL squad.